I'm doin' some readin'!

I know it will come as a surprise to many of you, but I am not only able to read, I actually enjoy it. Now usually my reading is at this level, but I do occasionally get to read something a little deeper. Right now, I'm reading this book by Dr. J.P. Moreland. So far it's a great look at how Christians have lost contact with culture, and how we might regain the kind of impact the church had in its early years. I'm not through with it yet, so I can't give you a full review yet. But here's a quote I thought was powerful:

"...the life of self-denial is, indeed, the 'easy yoke.' In contrast to the path of self-absorption, the path of self-denial for Jesus corresponds to the way we were made to function and to reality itself as God created it. The really hard life is the one lived in opposition to Jesus' path. All you need to do is to look at how hard life is for folks who cannot forgive others, who desperately need to be the focus of attention, who have to be in control of everything, who are driven to succeed to prove they are significant. This is the life of self-denial, not the life of self-denial. As one gets good at self-denial for the Kingdom, life gets progressively easier."

Isn't that true? It's the life that's lived outside the call of God that's hard. Maybe that's the reason the Psalms tell us not to envy evil people. Whatever the reason, a quote like this makes me realize that the life God calls me to live is the life He created me to live. And that life isn't terrible. God wouldn't do that to me. He loves me too much...